The Ikumen Project was promoted by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2010, when it found out that Japan is the developed country in which men spend less time doing household chores and caring for children. To fight this situation, offered an incentive plan with the aim of having workers ask for more paternity leave and reduce their working hours during the first six years of their children’s lives. There were also important benefits for companies that increased the number of permits requested, as well as training courses and workshops for parents.

In addition, the Ikumen Project was accompanied by a powerful publicity campaign that managed to change the perception of the parents who care for their sons and daughters. To the point that brands began to design products and to prepare communication campaigns aimed at this new segment and, by extension, non-sexist.